This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/861,442, filed Nov. 29, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
This application relates generally to climate control (heating, ventilating and air-conditioning, or HVAC) systems. More particularly, this application relates to HVAC systems used for motor vehicles.
Primary HVAC systems are often included for climate control of motor vehicles. These systems heat and/or cool air circulated in the occupant cabin of the vehicle. Some of these systems require energy from the vehicle engine such that the vehicle engine must be running (i.e. idling) for the HVAC system to be fully functional when the vehicle is parked. This is particularly an issue with vehicles that are commonly occupied while parked, such as recreational vehicles (RVs), busses, commercial trucks with sleeper cabs, and other such vehicles. However, idling a vehicle engine for a period of time to operate the HVAC system consumes relatively large quantities of fuel and generates exhaust.
To avoid unnecessary fuel consumption and limit the generation of exhaust while still providing a comfortable cabin temperature, auxiliary HVAC units that are independent of the vehicle engine have been used. These systems are generally free standing from the primary HVAC system of the vehicle. Such systems may require control systems to regulate the energy consumption of the auxiliary HVAC system or control the comfort level of the cab.
Accordingly, there is a need for a control system for effectively regulating both the comfort level of the cabin and the energy consumption of the auxiliary HVAC system. There is also a need for an integrated HVAC system that may be controlled by a single user interface.